Fair Grounds

In a field including six first-time starters, Squire Creek (Uncle Mo) proved much the best, scampering home a six-length winner over the well-related 4-5 choice Wicked Again (Gun Runner) in the six-furlong contest at Fair Grounds Thursday. Off the blocks alertly, the 5-2 second choice vied for the early lead with the well-related Wicked Again through opening fractions of :21.65 and :44.92. Head-to-head with that rival turning for home, the $525,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga graduate edged ahead in early stretch and blasted clear late en route to an easy victory. A...

On Saturday, Mar. 4, retired jockey and horse advocate Rosie Napravnik will be on site at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots to spearhead the third annual "New Vocations Day at the Races." A four-time local riding champion who was instrumental in the opening of the New Vocations facility in Covington, Louisiana, Napravnik will join host Joe Kristufek on the live feed during the racing day to help build awareness, promote success stories and inspire donations for Thoroughbred aftercare. "I am elated to be having our third annual New Vocations...

8th-FG, $50k, Msw, 3yo, 6f, 5:45 p.m. ET WICKED AGAIN (Gun Runner), a full-brother to MGSW and last term's GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint third-place finisher Wicked Halo, kicks off his career for Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen. The Winchell Thoroughbreds homebred, drawn on the inside in post two and favored on the morning line at 5-2, fired back-to-back, five-furlong bullets for this, including a 1:00 2/5 (1/8) drill Feb. 21. Wicked Again's dam Just Wicked (Tapit) won the 2015 GII Adirondack S. at Saratoga. The field of...

The first Saturday in May is the ultimate goal on the GI Kentucky Derby trail. But the first Saturday in March is often a make-or-break day on the national calendar, with key stakes in Florida, California and New York providing an uptick in intensity. 1) ARABIAN KNIGHT (c, Uncle Mo--Borealis Night, by Astrology) 'TDN Rising Star'. O-Zedan Racing Stables, Inc.; B-Corser Thoroughbreds LLC (KY); T-Tim Yakteen. Sales history: $250,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP; $2,300,000 2yo '22 OBSAPR. Lifetime Record: GSW, 2-2-0-0, $544.275 Last start: 1st GIII Southwest S. at Oaklawn Park,...

   In this new series, the TDN takes a look at the success of European-based sires in North America, on a semi-weekly basis. This week's column (Feb. 18-Feb. 25) is highlighted by the victory of Godolphin homebred Lake Lucerne (Dubawi {Ire}) in the Albert M. Stall Memorial S. at Fair Grounds on Feb. 18. A worldwide influence for class, Dubawi celebrated his 250th stakes winner with Lake Lucerne's two-length victory for Brendan Walsh and Tyler Gaffalione in a 1 1/16-mile turf stakes in New Orleans eight days previously. The 6-year-old...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 6th-GP, $84k, Msw, 3yo, f, 1 1/16m, 2:39p.m. ET Against a field where several have high-profile connections and purple catalog pages, the Albaugh Family Stables look to be counted present with MILAN MISCHIEF (Into Mischief), their $440,000 KEESEP daughter of America's four-time reigning champion general sire. Hailing from the female line of Irish Mare of the Year, several time European/Irish champion, and four-time High-weight runner MG1SW Kooyonga (Ire) (Persian Bold {Ire}), the Dale Romans trainee is a full-sister to SW Little Menace. Their dam is...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 3rd-OP, $106K, OC, 4yo/up, 1 1/16m, 2:03 p.m. Last seen checking in fourth in last July's GII Suburban S. at Belmont, MAX PLAYER (Honor Code) makes his 6-year-old debut Saturday in an optional claimer at Oaklawn. The picture of consistency throughout his career, the Steve Asmussen trainee was a Triple Crown contender in 2020, placing third behind Tiz the Law (Constitution) in both the rescheduled GI Belmont S. and the GI Runhappy Travers S. before finishing fifth behind future Horse of the Year Authentic (Into...

GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity runner up Loggins (Ghostzapper), who hasn't had a recorded work since before the Breeders' Futurity, was officially removed from Kentucky Derby consideration by trainer Brad Cox Monday. "He's not here," said Cox in reference to where the colt is currently training. "He's off the Derby trail. He's in light training. At this point, it's too late in the season to bring him here (Fair Grounds). We will get more serious with him when we get back to Kentucky."

Saturday's running of the GII Risen Star S. at Fair Grounds seems unlikely to produce a colt of the caliber of the race's namesake. In 1988, Risen Star captivated New Orleans as the hometown horse owned by charismatic connections, parlaying a win in the then-GIII Louisiana Derby to Grade I scores in both the Preakness S. and Belmont S. before being voted 3-year-old champion colt at year's end. But $29.40 upset winner Angel of Empire (Classic Empire) at least fits the bill as a hard-trying underdog you can root for....

Represented by a trio of well-meant sophomores in Saturday's GII Risen Star S. at Fair Grounds--including the top two favorites--trainer Brad Cox's march to the first Saturday in May continued with an upset victory by the Albaugh Family Stable's Angel of Empire (Classic Empire). Second by three lengths behind his re-opposing and favored stablemate Victory Formation (Tapwrit) in the one-mile Smarty Jones S. Jan. 1, Angel of Empire raced in a ground-saving eighth as the field of 14 rounded the clubhouse turn beneath the lights. The 13-1 chance began to...

The betting public was pretty sure that an Into Mischief filly out of a Tapit mare would emerge victorious in Saturday's GII Rachel Alexandra S. Presented by Fasig-Tipton, but they only got it half right. It wasn't 2-5 Hoosier Philly who picked up the 50 GI Kentucky Oaks points, but instead Godolphin homebred and 'TDN Rising Star' Pretty Mischievous who starred at Fair Grounds. Pacesetting longshot Miracle (by Into Mischief's younger brother Mendelssohn) stretched Pretty Mischievous to 3/4 of a length, and was another 7 3/4 lengths clear of Hoosier...

5th-Fair Grounds, $70,000, Msw, 2-18, 3yo, 6f, 1:10.07, ft, 3/4 length. BISHOPS BAY (c, 3, Uncle Mo--Catch My Drift {SW & GISP, $280,540}, by Pioneerof the Nile) was a popular wagering choice for his career bow, breaking from the gates as the 1-2 chalk under jockey Florent Geroux. With good early speed from mid pack, the $450,000 Keeneland yearling moved between rivals to just sit just off the flank of pacesetter Ocean City (American Pharoah) through a quick opening quarter in :22.14. Applying consistent pressure to that early leader into...